Sunday, February 27
Bryan-College Station
4:00 PM
Texas A&M
4
vs
1
Rice
Photo by: Sydney Morriss/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 7 Aggies Finish Non-Conference Slate with Win Over Rice
Feb 27, 2022 | Women's Tennis
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 7 Texas A&M women's tennis surged in the singles competition and overcame a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Rice Owls by a 4-1 margin Sunday evening at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
With the victory, the Maroon & White improve to 14-1 at the conclusion of the non-conference schedule, the program's best record outside of league play in program history. In defeat, Rice drops to 6-2 overall this year.
In Sunday's singles action, the Maroon & White blitzed their opponents on courts two, three, four and five to overcome an early 1-0 deficit and seal the team's fifth straight win. Gianna Pielet got things started with a commanding 6-3, 6-0 result over Maria Budin to deadlock the score at 1-1. Jayci Goldsmith followed on court four, defeating Anna Bowtell in a 6-2, 6-3 effort. No. 41 Tatiana Makarova continued her winning ways in singles, besting Allison Zipoli in a 6-2, 6-1 showing. Finally, No. 91 Mary Stoiana secured her fifth clinch victory of the season on court three with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Anastasia Smirnova.
Earlier in the match, Rice took the doubles point with victories on courts one and three. A&M snagged a 6-1 victory on court two, with Carson Branstine and Stoiana defeating Zipoli and Anastasia Smirnova.
After booking the deciding point Sunday afternoon, the Southbury, Connecticut, native Stoiana takes sole possession of first place on A&M's clinch win leaderboard. The freshman has booked five deciding points in singles play, more than a third of all Aggie victories this season. Additionally, Stoiana maintains the longest active doubles win streak on the team with 11-consecutive, a record dating back to the fall tournament campaign. Makarova extends her team-best singles win streak to nine straight, coming away unscathed in her dual match singles opportunities with a 9-0 record. The veteran is only two singles victories shy of cracking the top-10 at A&M for career singles wins.
UP NEXT
No. 7 Texas A&M women's tennis remains in the Brazos Valley for the start of Southeastern Conference play. The Aggies welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks in a 3 p.m. first serve on Friday, March 4 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On dropping the doubles point and responding in singles…
"At the end of the day, Rice has a very good program and we have had a ton of battles with them over the years. We definitely weren't as sharp as we needed to be in the doubles. It felt like every big point went Rice's way in the doubles competition today. On the optimistic side, those were our first doubles losses of the year. We were 28-0 heading into today, and sometimes that sort of thing gets in your head. I'm pleased that we had to face some adversity today. We have four players out there who never knew what it felt like to lose a doubles point until today, and that is something we cannot recreate in practice. So, I'm very pleased with the way our team responded following that."
On the team's strong start heading into SEC play…
"It definitely feels like one of our strongest starts in quite a while. I'm very pleased with the way this team has come together and how they have consistently found ways to have success. We have a lot of great weather ahead of us, thankfully, so I'm looking forward to getting some good practices in this week. It is a big change temperamentally going from non-conference play to SEC matches, so our preparation this week is going to be very important."
Freshman Mary Stoiana
On her 6-1 performance in doubles with Carson Branstine…
"Carson and I were just really locked in today. We have been practicing a lot together recently and we have really stepped it up in every practice. It felt like we had everything under control from the beginning of the match to the end and we both knew the plays that were going to work for us. I think that really showed up today."
On recording her fifth clinch win and preparing for SEC action…
"It feels great to clinch matches for our team. It shows that I'm playing with a decent level of consistency and that my training is really paying off in ways that can help our team have success. Going into the SEC season is really exciting because the team has come together and has been preparing for this moment all year. We won today and a lot of our players got some great matches in, so I feel like we are ready to get going in conference next week."
TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
#7 Texas A&M 4, Rice 1
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center – Bryan-College Station, Texas
SINGLES
1. #27 Carson Branstine (TAMU) vs. Victoria Smirnova (RICE) 5-7, 4-1, unfinished
2. #41 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. Allison Zipoli (RICE) 6-2, 6-1
3. #91 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. Anastasia Smirnova (RICE) 6-3, 6-2
4. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. Anna Bowtell (RICE) 6-2, 6-3
5. Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def. Maria Budin (RICE) 6-3, 6-0
6. Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) vs. Saara Orav (RICE) 4-6, 2-1, unfinished
DOUBLES
1. Maria Budin / Diae El Jardi (RICE) def. #3 Jayci Goldsmith / Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) 7-6(1)
2. Carson Branstine / Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. Anastasia Smirnova (RICE) 6-1
3. Saara Orav / Victoria Smirnova (RICE) def. Jeanette Mireles / Gianna Pielet (TAMU) 7-5
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,4,2,3*)
POSTMATCH NOTES
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN.
With the victory, the Maroon & White improve to 14-1 at the conclusion of the non-conference schedule, the program's best record outside of league play in program history. In defeat, Rice drops to 6-2 overall this year.
In Sunday's singles action, the Maroon & White blitzed their opponents on courts two, three, four and five to overcome an early 1-0 deficit and seal the team's fifth straight win. Gianna Pielet got things started with a commanding 6-3, 6-0 result over Maria Budin to deadlock the score at 1-1. Jayci Goldsmith followed on court four, defeating Anna Bowtell in a 6-2, 6-3 effort. No. 41 Tatiana Makarova continued her winning ways in singles, besting Allison Zipoli in a 6-2, 6-1 showing. Finally, No. 91 Mary Stoiana secured her fifth clinch victory of the season on court three with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Anastasia Smirnova.
Earlier in the match, Rice took the doubles point with victories on courts one and three. A&M snagged a 6-1 victory on court two, with Carson Branstine and Stoiana defeating Zipoli and Anastasia Smirnova.
After booking the deciding point Sunday afternoon, the Southbury, Connecticut, native Stoiana takes sole possession of first place on A&M's clinch win leaderboard. The freshman has booked five deciding points in singles play, more than a third of all Aggie victories this season. Additionally, Stoiana maintains the longest active doubles win streak on the team with 11-consecutive, a record dating back to the fall tournament campaign. Makarova extends her team-best singles win streak to nine straight, coming away unscathed in her dual match singles opportunities with a 9-0 record. The veteran is only two singles victories shy of cracking the top-10 at A&M for career singles wins.
UP NEXT
No. 7 Texas A&M women's tennis remains in the Brazos Valley for the start of Southeastern Conference play. The Aggies welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks in a 3 p.m. first serve on Friday, March 4 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On dropping the doubles point and responding in singles…
"At the end of the day, Rice has a very good program and we have had a ton of battles with them over the years. We definitely weren't as sharp as we needed to be in the doubles. It felt like every big point went Rice's way in the doubles competition today. On the optimistic side, those were our first doubles losses of the year. We were 28-0 heading into today, and sometimes that sort of thing gets in your head. I'm pleased that we had to face some adversity today. We have four players out there who never knew what it felt like to lose a doubles point until today, and that is something we cannot recreate in practice. So, I'm very pleased with the way our team responded following that."
On the team's strong start heading into SEC play…
"It definitely feels like one of our strongest starts in quite a while. I'm very pleased with the way this team has come together and how they have consistently found ways to have success. We have a lot of great weather ahead of us, thankfully, so I'm looking forward to getting some good practices in this week. It is a big change temperamentally going from non-conference play to SEC matches, so our preparation this week is going to be very important."
Freshman Mary Stoiana
On her 6-1 performance in doubles with Carson Branstine…
"Carson and I were just really locked in today. We have been practicing a lot together recently and we have really stepped it up in every practice. It felt like we had everything under control from the beginning of the match to the end and we both knew the plays that were going to work for us. I think that really showed up today."
On recording her fifth clinch win and preparing for SEC action…
"It feels great to clinch matches for our team. It shows that I'm playing with a decent level of consistency and that my training is really paying off in ways that can help our team have success. Going into the SEC season is really exciting because the team has come together and has been preparing for this moment all year. We won today and a lot of our players got some great matches in, so I feel like we are ready to get going in conference next week."
TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
#7 Texas A&M 4, Rice 1
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center – Bryan-College Station, Texas
SINGLES
1. #27 Carson Branstine (TAMU) vs. Victoria Smirnova (RICE) 5-7, 4-1, unfinished
2. #41 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. Allison Zipoli (RICE) 6-2, 6-1
3. #91 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. Anastasia Smirnova (RICE) 6-3, 6-2
4. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. Anna Bowtell (RICE) 6-2, 6-3
5. Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def. Maria Budin (RICE) 6-3, 6-0
6. Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) vs. Saara Orav (RICE) 4-6, 2-1, unfinished
DOUBLES
1. Maria Budin / Diae El Jardi (RICE) def. #3 Jayci Goldsmith / Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) 7-6(1)
2. Carson Branstine / Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. Anastasia Smirnova (RICE) 6-1
3. Saara Orav / Victoria Smirnova (RICE) def. Jeanette Mireles / Gianna Pielet (TAMU) 7-5
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,4,2,3*)
POSTMATCH NOTES
- Texas A&M rises to 14-1 at the conclusion of non-conference play and owns the No. 7 ranking nationally according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The Aggies 14-1 record is the best out-of-conference result in program history.
- Rice drops to 6-2 overall this season with their only losses coming against SMU and Texas A&M.
- In the all-time series between Texas A&M and Rice, the Aggies improve to 29-10.
- Tatiana Makarova extended her team-best singles win streak to nine straight and holds a 9-0 record in dual match singles action.
- Makarova is only two singles wins away from cracking A&M's top-10 in career singles victories.
- Mary Stoiana took sole possession of the team's clinch win lead, booking the deciding point in five matches so far this season.
- In his head coaching career, Mark Weaver is now 124-56 all-time.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
123
Victoria Smirnova / 0 [RICE]
710
54UF
#2 Singles Match
12
Allison Zipoli / 0 [RICE]
21
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Anastasia Smirnova / 0 [RICE]
32
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Anna Bowtell / 0 [RICE]
23
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Maria Budin / 0 [RICE]
30
66
#6 Singles Match
123
Saara Orav / 0 [RICE]
610
42UF
Order of Finish:
5,4,2,3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Georgia Postgame: Mark Weaver, Mary Stoiana, Mia Kupres
Sunday, May 18
Michigan Postgame: Mark Weaver, Nicole Khirin, Lexington Reed
Saturday, May 17
NCAA Team Championship Preview: Daria Smetannikov
Monday, May 12
NCAA Team Championship Preview: Mia Kupres
Monday, May 12
